Thoughts, musings and commentary on stories from the developing world

As I sat at work trying to complete a fairly monotonous task yesterday, I started to wonder what it is that makes us feel detached from the reality around us so often. The task I was working on was dull, but it shouldn’t have seemed such a chore. I was filing away letters from sponsored children from across the globe.

After a while, the letters seemed less a reflection of the children’s lives and more an activity to while away the hours. The repetitive nature of the exercise undid the significance of those handwritten notes and wax crayon pictures.

Maybe that’s what happens so often when we see endless reports of war, famine and natural disaster across the globe. It seems to happen so often that we become numb to its reality.

Desperate not to ignore the meaning and importance behind my work, I decided a change of activity might do the trick. I began looking for an appropriate picture for the next project update.

Leafing through photos of the children that have been part of the project work out in Cambodia, I came across images taken last Christmas. A portrait shot of a young girl with a huge grin clutching a teddy bear gleamed up at me, and, as the toy had clearly made her day, her smile made mine.

My boss was right, sometimes this really does feel like the best job in the world.